TN govt calls for all-party meet to draft SOPs to avoid stampedes

The DMK ruled state has invited all recognised political parties and those with representation in Parliament and the legislative assembly. And, since the government has only called representatives of recognised political parties (by the Election Commission of India), actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) on whose petition the high court ordered framing of a SOP won’t be part of the meeting

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday convened a consultative meeting on November 6 with all political parties to frame an Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for conducting political campaigns in Tamil Nadu based on a Madras high court directive following the Karur stampede.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin had earlier announced that the government would formulate an SOP in consultation with experts, political parties, activists in the aftermath of the Karur tragedy. (PTI PHOTO)

The DMK ruled state has invited all recognised political parties and those with representation in Parliament and the legislative assembly. And, since the government has only called representatives of recognised political parties (by the Election Commission of India), actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) on whose petition the high court ordered framing of a SOP won’t be part of the meeting. It was at actor’s Vijay political rally in Karur where the stampede occurred killing 41 people including children on the night of September 27.

The SOP is aimed at averting such a tragedy. The meeting will be chaired by senior ministers and attended by senior officials of the state government, said a statement from the government.

After the meeting, the government as directed by the court will submit the draft SOP before the bench of Chief Justice M M Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan by November 11. The bench on October 26 had set a 10-day deadline to the state to draw up the SOPs while hearing a batch of petitions including that of TVK’s relating to the Karur stampede. And, if the government failed to meet the deadline, the HC said that it would issue an SOP. But, even before the court’s order, chief minister MK Stalin had announced that the government would formulate an SOP in consultation with experts, political parties, activists in the aftermath of the tragedy.